


Brave at Heart

by ivebeenstumped



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-25
Updated: 2014-05-25
Packaged: 2018-01-26 10:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1684475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivebeenstumped/pseuds/ivebeenstumped
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kale had never felt he fit in in the Dauntless compound.<br/>But what he realizes on the day of his choosing ceremony will change his life forever.</p>
<p>What will he pick?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brave at Heart

The train tracks rumbled on the rocky, dry ground, sending pebbles bouncing along it. The teenage boy lying in a small patch of lush grass sprung up as soon as he felt the vibrations against the ground. Looking into the blinding sunrise he saw a train come rushing into view from around the corner, the boy stumbled to his feet and ran into the dense greenery he had been lying on the edge of. Hiding from behind a bush, he saw the train hurtle past sending a blast of cool wind into him. When the train had gone past he saw several figures dressed in dark clothing walking and laughing from the tracks. The boy stepped back and accidentally stepped on a twig, the sound made one of the figures turn their head about abruptly.   
“Oh crap,” muttered the boy as he ducked behind the bush and pulled his jacket collar up to hide his face. He clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle his ragged breathing, they can’t find me out here, he thought. He heard footsteps coming towards him and mutters of jokes being thrown about as the group came closer.  
“Oy Kale,” said a harsh female voice, “Rian here thought he saw you out here. I said no way, Kale wouldn’t be that stupid, to come out here where we could find you oh so easily.”   
Oh god oh god oh god, thought Kale. He tried to push himself further into the bush, there was one thing he was good at, hiding. He saw black boots come from around the bush, but they didn’t seem to see him.   
“Come on,” said a timid male voice, “we’re gonna be late if we don’t start getting a move on now.” The group begun to walk back toward the tracks and then started running as they crossed and got further towards the looming city. 

Kale hurried to his class, he was already late thanks to the morning’s incident and didn’t want to face another detention. When he reached the quad, people were still at their lockers, trying to find their books. Kale sighed; at least the bell hadn’t gone yet. He shuffled into the classroom; he liked being one of the first ones there. People were too interested in their own conversations to notice if he was there, and that was better for everybody. He sat at his desk and stared out the window, watching a group of Erudite girls arguing about something. 

Kale had never felt at home in the Dauntless compound, but it was the only home he had. He still adored the Dauntless ideals, about courage and not backing down, but lately Kale had noticed that being Dauntless was more about being stupidly brave. He was eleven when the bullying started. He didn’t want to jump on to the train; you didn’t learn that until you were thirteen anyway.   
“But everyone else does it,” he was told, “it doesn’t matter if we get caught anyway, the adults don’t care.” But Kale never did it, he learnt when he was thirteen and then became one of the best at jumping it, which only made the other Dauntless kids hate him more. But ever since that day, no one forgot about little Kale who wouldn’t jump onto the train. He was bullied by all of the Dauntless kids and it wasn’t like the adults didn’t notice, they thought it was good character building. They thought that he should be brave and work it out himself. And so for five years Kale had been mercilessly bullied about not being brave enough and certainly not belonging in Dauntless. And then when he was nine, both of his parents died in an attempt on the Dauntless compound by a group of the factionless, now he lived with his older sister Katheryn. Kale still hadn’t decided where he wanted to belong, to be brave and choose Dauntless? Or to go the easy way out and choose something else. His choosing ceremony was in a week, he was running out of time. 

Kale meandered back to the train tracks after everyone had left the school. He always lingered after the final bell went unlike the rest of the Dauntless kids, this meant that when he finally made the train trip back home he had the entire compartment to himself. But if he thought school was bad, it was nothing compared to what waited for him at home. Kale jumped off the train as it whizzed past the Dauntless Compound, landing on the roof of the entrance building. He reached the gaping hole in the roof leading to the pit, the hub of the Dauntless compound, and braced himself for the jump. Kale lived for this, this freefall into the compound, knowing that there was nothing holding you up, but there was something to catch you. He jumped and felt the cool damp air fall past him as he landed on the safety net at the bottom of the hole. He clambered off and made his way to his bunk, taking a very narrow path next to the chasm that barely anybody used. Kale slowed his pace as he heard voices from up ahead, in the dim lantern light he couldn’t make out who was standing at the end of the corridor but the shrunk into the wall. The voices ceased, and Kale heard footsteps coming towards him.   
“Hey Kale,” said a menacing female voice, the one from the morning. Her name was Elvia and she was the fiercest sixteen year old Kale had ever come across.   
“Why don’t you some out from there she said, we’re going to have a little chat with you,” she said. Kale tried to shuffle back, but he walked straight into two solid masses. Arms grabbed him and pushed him towards Elvia and her ‘minions’. As she came into focus Kale noticed that she had less of the usual suspects in her group. Maybe some had gotten out of her clutches, most of them were afraid of Elvia and considered being her ‘friends’ the only safety.   
“Hey Rian,” said Kale at one of the boys standing behind Elvia sarcastically, “having fun with your new friends?” Rian shifted nervously where he was standing.  
“Shut up Kale,” he muttered.  
“Now listen Kale,” said Elvia, in that angry whisper tone that makes you more nervous than actual shouting, “next week is the choosing ceremony, and see that chasm?” she pointed to the giant chasm with waves crashing against the side, sending sprays of washed over all of them.  
“If you choose Dauntless next week Kale, we’ll dangle you over the side and leave you there,” she said, “you don’t belong here.” She nodded at the giant boys holding Kale still and they released him, he rubbed his arms as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and sashayed off.

Kale thought about that conversation for the rest of the week and by the time that his aptitude test came around, he still didn’t know what he would choose. His heart said Dauntless, but his head said anything but. And of course the test didn’t help, he got an aptitude for erudite, but only just. Kale went to bed that night terrified for the following day.

Unfortunately that following day had to come sometime and the morning of the choosing ceremony Kale lay wide awake, after getting little to no sleep. Suddenly the door was flung open and his sister Katheryn stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.  
“Get up Kale, you need to get ready,” she said.  
“Yep,” said Kale, rolling out of bed. He met his sister again in the dining hall, she was one of the only ones who sat with him when they ate.  
“You chosen yet?” she asked him while she took a big bite out of a green apple.  
“Nope,” said Kale his mouth full of cereal, he shrugged, “just gonna go with my gut.”  
“And what’s your gut saying?” said Katheryn, smiling. She enjoyed when the two of them talked, he may not be the best brother but he was the only family she had. She would miss him if he left.  
“It’s not sure yet,” said Kale. 

When all of the Dauntless were ready, they headed up to the Glass Room above the pit where it was easiest to catch the train. They all jumped on, Kale making the jump last and deliberately choosing a compartment with a very little number of people. The other Dauntless looked over at him, pointing and whispering to their friends about him. He chose to ignore them, and looked out of the compartment at the speeding world going by.   
When the train reached the jump point, all the Dauntless lined up at the edge of the compartment, bracing themselves for the jump.   
“Now!” Kale heard someone shout, everyone in the compartment jumped at the same time. Kale relished the feeling of flying through the air and landing on the hard ground, his knees bucking as he fell forward.   
“Come one Kale,” he heard someone say, and he scrambled from the dirt to catch up with the rest of the group who were already running to the city.

When they reached the Hub Kale stopped in his tracks. His head caught up with his body, with the feeling of adrenaline of running and jumping with the rest of the group he had completely forgotten about why they were running. And what he had to do. Katheryn noticed his hesitation to continue and she walked over to him and took his hand.  
“Hey, it’s okay,” she said. Kale suddenly felt as if he was nine again, and their parents had just died and she was comforting him. “Choose what you think is right, Kale.” He nodded and they walked to the Hub and joined the line of Dauntless teens and their families entering the building. 

Soon the ceremony commenced, and in alphabetical order each child was called up to the stage. On the stage floated five glass bowls, each had a feature from each faction. Amity had earth, Abegnation had grey stone, Erudite had water, Candor had glass and Dauntess had lit coals. As each child was called up, they would cut their hand and drip their blood into the bowl of their choice, this would choose what faction they would enter. As the list reached Kale, his grip on Katheryn’s hand had tightened, he still had no idea what he would choose in the end.  
“Kale Ryan,” the host called, Kale’s heart stopped. He stood up, let go of Katheryn’s hand and wled to the stairs. He descended without really thinking about what he was doing, his mind was going crazy over what he would choose. He reached the stage and picked up the knife, he cut his hand and in an act made purely on impulse, dragged his hand over the Dauntless bowl. Shocked gasps could be heard from the Dauntless section, along with a few woops and shouts of encouragement. Then, the woops continued, and grew until every Dauntless in the room were standing, clapping and shouting Kale’s name. Even Elvia was standing, although it looked as if she was being forced to by her parents. Kale walked back to his seat with a bandage covering his hand but a Dauntless leader stopped him at the foot of the stairs.  
“Well done Kale,” he said with a smile. “That was very brave.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is for my school's Year 10 Personal Project. I am writing a collection of one-shots and compiling them in one book. Comments and suggestions are encouraged on either here or my tumblr ivebeenstumped :) xx


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